


Questionable Decisions

by Tentori21



Category: World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft (Comics), World of Warcraft - Various Authors
Genre: Canon Characters make appearances, Original Character(s), RP character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:11:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26350156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tentori21/pseuds/Tentori21
Summary: After a tragic incident thousands of years ago, Tentori Moonfall was stripped of almost everything, including her ability to perform druidic acts. A series of not so chance meetings sets her on the path to reclaim things she never even knew she had lost and so much more.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

**Prologue**

“I really don’t think it was a good idea to bring someone so young here. This is not a hospitable place and we have no idea what we’re up against.” A towering elf with a voice as imposing as his presence glared down at a Night Elf teen. The heat from the sun blaring down on the hot sandy ground paled in comparison to the scorching gaze of the Night Elf Commander.

“Surely as a druid yourself you can sense her potential.” Another Night Elf male chimed in soothingly from the line.

“Potential does not equate to results. Need I remind you this is a war and I don’t intend to lose.”

“I will not let you down, Master Staghelm.”

“See to it that you don’t.” Staghelm gave her one last discerning glance before moving on down the ranks.

The young Night Elf looked on either side of her at her parents. Her Mother, Syndelia, gave her a playful nudge. Her stern-faced father, Morivert, gave her an approving nod.

“We are stationed in a small town called Southwind. Our task is to ensure surveil the Qiraji city and the movements of the Silithid.” Her father explained as they walked the dusty road from Staghelm Point to Southwind Village in the south. “I suggest you hone your attunement to the ways of the Claw to aid you in stealth and reconnaissance.”

“You’re just saying that because you want Tentori to follow in your footsteps!” Her Mother teased from the back of a gray nightsaber. She spun her moonglaive around like a top on the point of her finger, keeping it level above her head as the rest of her body swayed with the undulating movement of her mount.

“We have just been reunited with our daughter and you are making light of a very dire situation!”

“Glad to see the family dynamic hasn’t changed.” The teen giggled at her parent’s usual antics. Her laughter defused a bit of the pressure that had lodged in the caravan as it rambled down the trail.

“I did miss your laughter, my little bird.” Her father’s voice took on a gentle tone and his features softened for just a moment. “We’re here.” The caravan turned and headed into the village outpost amongst the shifting sands. Her Father took her hand and held her back for a moment. His hard features were marred with worry now as he held her shoulders in his hands.

“Little bird. No matter what path you choose to take as a Druid, know I will always love and support you. No matter what. The thing that means the most to me is your happiness.”

“Papa! Were you worried I thought Mama was serious?!” She smashed her face into his chest as she hugged him.

He let out a strangled gasp before gently rubbing her back. “No, no! Of course not! I just wanted to make sure you heard it from me… is all.” He cleared his throat and his stern demeanor returned. “But you really must decide on a specialization soon! It is imperative to your studies as a Druid!”

“BY ELUNE! I KNOW!” She replied dramatically. “I was thinking I would like to be a Guardian…” There was a bit of coyness to her voice as she pulled a pendant carved in the shape of a bear claw from beneath her leather chest piece.

“You… You want to be one of those brutish bear types?! Oh no… no, no, no. My little bird is far too elegant for the likes of that!”

“What about a moonkin?” She went on teasingly. “I could act as a guardian of the balance and one of Elune’s great guardians!”

“Mooonkiiinnn? That is… BARELY BETTER THAN A BEAR!” His strangled exclamation ended abruptly. “With all due respect to Elune, I do not understand her choice of moonkin for such an esteemed role.”

She giggled at his outburst and he quickly realized she was teasing him.

“Why you…”

“WHA!” Scarcely escaping a noogy to the noggin, she ran into the settlement.

“I am a Druid of the Claw! You can’t out run me, young lady!”

That laughter, that friendly music of a happy life could not play forever. Not in a land ravaged by war.

Years of stalemate had driven the Qiraji to seek extreme measures in their bid to drive back the Night Elves preventing their forward conquest. “We’re under attack!” A voice rang out in the dead of night clarion clear. “A swarm from the south!”

The inhabitants of Southmoon Village sprang into action as druid donned their chosen forms and sentinels hurried to don battle armor. Morivert scampered down from a lookout tower with abject terror all over his normally stoic features.

“This is the largest swarm they have ever sent! We need reinforcements, Lady Ambermoon.”

The Sentinel leader at the village turned to Tentori. “You can fly, can you not? Go to Lord Staghelm and tell him of our situation.”

“Yes, my Lady.” Tentori immediately changed into a jet black bird and flew swift as she could to the stronghold of Lord Staghelm.

“LORD STAGHELM! SOUTHMOON IS UNDER ATTACK BY A SWARM OF TREMENDOUS SIZE!” She yelled as soon as she landed.

Though he seemed agitated about being woke up in the middle of night, Fandral Staghelm came out to meet her. His son, Valstann, quickly spoke.

“Allow me to lead the reinforcements, Father. There is no need for you to lose sleep over this.”

Fandral gave his son a proud, but discerning look. “Very well. I’ll expect a full report in the morning.”

With that, Valstann lead a regiment of their best soldiers toward Southmoon. Somehow, they managed to reach the settlement before the swarm had surrounded it.

The fighting was fierce, but Tentori did not shy away from it she weaved through the legs of Silithid, taking them out with her powerful panther form jaws as she went. She soon found her Father, she joined him in a graceful ballet of leaps and bounds as they used buildings and terrain to get on the back of their quarry and force it to the ground.

Her mother, not to be outdone, weaved through the fray on her sabercat as if they were one and the same being. Her moonglaives sliced through the air with deadly precision to find the soft joints between hardened carapace plates. Her great saber ran her around the carcasses to retrieve the glaives only for them to be loosed again immediately. One such throw sailed over her husband’s head close enough to give the fuzzy tips of his pointed ears a trim. A pointed look of indignation met by a casual shrug and a smile. That is until the ground beneath her began to give way. The great cat tried to leap off the unsettled ground but failed to find purchase enough to get very far. It clung to the side of a deep hole with all the strength it’s front claws could muster.

“MOM! TALIA!” Tentori yelled as she watched in horror as the cat’s claws left deep grooves in the sand as it slowly descended.

In a desperate bid to lighten the load, the sentinel cut pieces of the barding off one by one. They crashed into a swarming mass of Silithid below causing them to scatter briefly, only to fill the space again.

“Not like this!” Tentori roared as an all-consuming light took hold of her eyes. Her cat form faded in favor of something taller, though equally feral, a moonkin. Ink black feathers like her bird form covered her enlarged frame as roots slithered out of the ground entwining around her mother and the great cat like the first snakes in Spring. Slow and deliberate they wound around the pair until they could finally pull themselves from the hole.

The rider fell to the ground as the cat toppled in exhaustion. She looked around the desperate carnage trying to regain her senses and think through a plan. It quickly became clear there could be no plan. This was a slaughter. A trap. She took the great cat’s face in her hands and held her forehead to it. “Talia. I have asked a great deal of you and for that I am truly sorry. But I must ask one last task of you. My daughter. I want her to live.”

The cat let out a pathetic mewl in protest to what it knew it was being told. The pair locked eyes for a long moment before the saber puller itself to unsteady feet. The fiercest roar it had ever loosed momentarily drowned out the din around them. Then it eyed the moonkin furiously casting spells a few yards away.

“Darling!”

“I know!” She got to her feet as her husband skid to a stop beside her. “They warned us this could happen, didn’t they?”

“Then you propose to…”

“Help me cover Talia.”

“Of course.”

The sentinel gave her saber one final look before the great cat charged off towards its target. Tentori’s parents used every tool at their disposable to clear a path to the raging moonkin. Roots knocking Silithid off balance, glaives to knock out legs. And when there were no glaives left to throw, they charged head long together.

Having reached its quarry, the great cat tackled the moonkin to the ground. They rolled a few feet kicking up dust and knocking smaller Silithid aside. The moonkin ruffled its feathers before letting out an angry squawking roar at the cat. The cat returned one of its own. This seemed to shake Tentori out of her enraged trance.

“Talia?” She looked around confused and saw her parents fighting the massive bugs not far away. She spied an errant moonglaive in the neck of a nearby Silithid. She yanked it free and threw it back to her mom.

“Thanks, Love!” Her mom yelled back haggardly. “Now take Talia and get out of here!”

“Not without both of you!” She got to her feet and tried to make herself look taller and more menacing. “You promised when you came for me that was the last time you would leave me alone! We go back together or not at all!”

Seeing the determination in her eyes seemed to make them reconsider. They looked at each other then back at her.

“Together.” They raced to her and her mother quickly mounted Talia. The druids donned their cat forms and the trio raced through the torn up terrain in a bid for freedom. The ground continued to break and disintegrate around them causing whole buildings in the settlement to tilt, sink or completely collapse. Debris from one of the collapsing buildings split the group and sent Tentori flying into a piece of stone masonry. Her head made a sickening crack as it collided with the hard surface. She struggled to summon up healing energies but she couldn’t focus at all. She could hear structures toppling and painful wails all around her, but they seemed very distant now. Something warm caressed her face and she barely made out her father’s bloody face. Her mother was kneeling behind him clutching her side. Something warm and wet grabbed her by the arm and start pulling her. Her consciousness fading, the last thing she heard was a sweet voice speaking to her.

“Not today, young one. There is a far greater story for you to tell.” When she opened her eyes, all she could see was the bright, glowing disc of the moon in the cloudless sky. And then, nothing. Nothing but a single phrase echoing through the infinite dark until it distorted and muffled into nothing as well.

“All together or not at all. All together or not at all…”

When next Tentori awoke she was in a cool space. Somewhere in the distance she could hear dripping water, but it didn’t register that’s what it was at first. She groggily tried to move only to be held fast by something large, warm, and furry. A few slow blinks cleared her foggy vision enough for her to see a gray mass of fur draped over her upper body. The sabercat it belongs too felt oddly familiar and yet wholly foreign to her.

The large cat seemed to sense she was awake and began to stir itself. It licked her face leaving a swath of hair sticking up oddly in its wake. It gave her a tentative, playful nudge with its head. “Well good morning to you too.” Tentori rasped out of her dry throat. “Where are we and how did we get here?”

The cat moved so she could sit up and look around. “A barrow den?” She spied the sleeping forms of druids in the nooks and crannies all around her. “Why am I in a barrow den?” She looked to the cat for answers but got nothing.

Instead, the cat got up and stretched then sat down by the small opening to the crevice they had been sleeping in. Without a word between them, Tentori followed the cat out of the twisting maze of the barrow den. A brilliant sun greeted them at the entrance causing them both to squint.

“Nice of you to finally rejoin us, Tentori.” A friendly male voice called out.

She looked at him, still half squinting against the glare of the sun. “I’m sorry. Are you speaking to me?”


	2. The Worst Druid Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tentori, resigned to ending her life, makes a final visit to the barrow den of the Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage. While there, she has an encountered that sends her on a last ditch mission to find her place in the world.

I was never anything special. No one ever had a reason to remember my name. Although I had been a member of the Cenarion Circle for centuries my skills as a druid were still considerably lacking. I felt a strong affinity for nature, though affinity alone did not create a connection. No matter how hard I focused or how many times I reached out, all I ever got in return was garble to my ears. It was a language I did not speak and could not comprehend. Yet, I couldn’t imagine any other place I could possibly belong. It wasn’t a feeling I could describe in words to make anyone understand. If I was honest, I didn’t really understand it myself.

“Tentori!” Someone yelling my name brought me out of my thoughts. “You were daydreaming again… You really should consider trying your hand had being a dreamer and helping Master Stormrage in the Emerald Dream.” My longtime mentor Loganaar gave me a pressed smile when I looked up at him sadly. I looked away in time to watch a leaf drop lazily into the moonwell I had been meditating near.

“You know I’ve tried…” I shrank in defeat under the kind eyes of my mentor. “I’m beginning to wonder if I should even be here, doing this.” I plucked the leaf out of the water and marveled at the beauty of it.

“You need to decide why you want to be here doing this. What do you hope to accomplish?” He had asked me that several times now and an answer still hadn’t come to me. He sighed and ruffled my hair before walking away. “You’ll figure it out someday. When you do, you’ll become very powerful. I know it.”

Those words long since stopped offering me encouragement. In fact, almost nothing gave me any kind of solace anymore. I wandered the gently rolling landscape watching novice and adept druids mastering things I had given up trying to do centuries ago. Too ashamed to do anything else, I hid where I always did: in the Archdruid’s barrow den. I knew its depths like the back of my hand and soon found myself along side the elf himself. I nestled myself up amongst the cool roots and earth wishing I could become one with it. Return to the earth from which I came and feed the plants. At least then I would be useful to something.

“Hello again, Archdruid. Sorry to bother you when you’re so busy. I just… I wanted to come and say thank you for putting me on this path. Thank you for everything really.” I began my goodbye strong, but quickly devolved into a blubbering mess. “I’m just not cut to be a druid. I’m not sure I’m cut out to be anything really. So I’m going to become one with nature the only way I know how.” I sniffled and wiped my tears away. “I won’t be bothering you anymore, Archdruid. I hope you finish your work quickly and come back to everyone waiting for you. I’m sure Lady Tyrande misses you terribly.”

“You are correct. There is not a day goes by I do not miss my beloved.” A somber voice from the entrance of the chamber startled me so much my old defense mechanism kicked in. Much to my mortification, I turned into treant right then and there in front of Lady Tyrande Whisperwind, leader of my people and High Priestess of Elune. She looked at me curiously for a moment then started to laugh.

“I have never seen a druid turn into a treant when startled.” She seemed amused, which made me happy. At least she was enjoying this.

“It… it’s a defense mechanism… I know it doesn’t make sense in most situations. Like right now! Trees don’t grow under ground!” Lady Tyrande continued to smile warmly at me as I babbled on.

“I mean you no harm, young one. Your disguise is not necessary.” She calmed herself once more as she approached where the Archdruid lay dreaming.

“Well about that…” I laughed nervously and she gave me a suspicious look. “I don’t… actually… know… how to change back…” My voice got smaller and smaller as I explained it. It sounded completely ridiculous, even to me, to the point I wished the ground would swallow me. The leaves on my head and hands started to shrink and wither in my embarrassment.

“It seems I am not the only one with a troubled heart…” Her once proud voice was full of regret and pain.

“Milady?” She shook her head though it did nothing to dispel the shadows that dulled her bright eyes.

“Everyone experiences doubts from time to time. The greater your responsibilities the more opportunities for doubt to creep into your heart.” Seeing our lady so vulnerable like this was enough to make my heart break.

“I should go… so you can… be alone.” I tried to quietly see myself out, but my limbs creaked and leaves shuddered with each subtle move I made. She suddenly burst out laughing again.

“I feel it was Elune’s will that we met here this day. You remind me of a young Malfurion trying so hard to master everything he was taught.” When I looked up at her in shock, the shadows were gone from her eyes. They looked like two stars, clear and brilliant.

“Re… real… really?!” I was completely enthralled by the thought of Archdruid Stormrage not being good at being a druid.

“In the beginning he was a novice, just like you.” She smiled down at him fondly as she recalled it. “Everyone has to start somewhere.”

“Oh yes… I suppose that’s true…” The thought still plagued me that I wasn’t good enough to be there. “But no matter how hard I try, I don’t get any better. I don’t think I am meant to be a druid. I’m not going to accomplish anything great if I keep going on this way.”

“I trust you are familiar with tales of The Betrayer.” Her voice took on a bitter edge as she asked and my throat got a little dry.

“Yes, milady.”

“Illidan was born with golden eyes. Eyes that said he would one day go on to truly great things.” She took up the Archdruid’s hand in hers as she went on. “Yet, it is Malfurion who has done the most for our people, for our world.” Her melancholy faded as she turned to look at me again. “Heroes are not always born with the knowledge they will do great things. Heroes are born when a being decides to do something extraordinary with their ordinary life. They set themselves on a path and do not waver from it no matter the outcome."

"Lady Tyrande…” I could barely speak for how strongly her words resonated with me.

“What is your name, young one?"

"Tentori Moonfall.”

She nodded in response.

“Thank you for telling me that. It truly put my heart at ease.”

“It was Elune who graced me with the words you needed to hear. Praise her for the peace in your heart.”

The peace in my heart. The peace in my heart. Elune is the reason for the peace in my heart. Every time I go to one of Elune’s sacred places I feel at peace…

“I know why I want to be a druid now! I know what I need to do!” Lady Tyrande took a step back from me and my exuberance. “I’m going to learn how to become a moonkin and protect Elune’s sacred places!"

"That is a very noble path to walk, young Tentori. And I think I know just the place to start.”

“Really?! Please tell me! I want to get started right away!” She started laughing lightly before putting her hands on my bark covered shoulders.“

"There are many owlkin in Winterspring. You should travel there and try to commune with them.” She gave my shoulders a gentle pat.

“Thank you so much, Lady Tyrande! Thousands times, thank you!” I bowed to her reverently before tearing out of the barrow den as fast as I could. Which was not fast… at all… because I was still a treant… For the record, wooden shoes are a bad idea on smooth stone.

Before I could go to Winterspring, I needed to go home to Ashenvale to tell my family of my decision. Well what was left of it anyway. My mother and father had been heroes in an ancient war. A Sentinel and a druid respectively. My sister and I had been living on our own together since we lost them. At least until she left to serve as a priestess of Elune during one of the wars. That’s when I decided to pursue becoming a druid like my hero, the Archdruid.

I had almost made it back to my parents' graves when something out of place caught my attention. Stark red in the sea of verdant green grass and mosses. Everything in me told me to run away, for I knew exactly what it was. An orc from the Warsong… Yet a barely audible whisper spoke to me. “It’s not his time to die."

A slap of thunder over head snapped me into action and I ran over to the gravely wounded orc. I had read of orcs and heard tales of them but nothing could have prepared me for actually meeting one. All muscle and sinew wrapped in mail armor and tattered red leather and fabric. Nothing like the lean muscles of a male Night Elf. These were muscles meant for raw, brute strength. His body was covered in cuts and bruises on top of old scars. I looked him over and saw 2 arrows, true in aim, from a Night Elf archer in his side where there was a gap in his armor. I carefully yanked the arrows out and he let out a loud grunt, though he didn’t stir. After quickly staunching the bleeding I tried to figure out what to do next.

I tried to pick him up but he was too heavy. "My you’re a big one…” I lamented as the first drops of rain started to patter on the leaves over head. I racked my brain for a solution, but the only thing that came to me was to try to use my bear form. I had only successfully transformed into a bear once at will. Even then, I couldn’t hold it.

“I have to do something.” Resolved to not let the one time nature spoke to me clearly to go to waste, I focused every fiber of my being on transforming. I focused so hard I grit my eyes shut a moment. When I opened them again my field of vision had changed. I looked myself over and found I had done it! I now now one ferociously fuzzy bear!

The rain intensifying overhead snatched my moment of joy from me quickly. “Right! Come on, big guy!” I got under him a few times but couldn’t get him lifted on my back. “Maybe if I can get some roots to pull him…” I snuggled under him again before reaching out to the forest. I focused with all my might asking the nearby trees to help me. After a moment, roots burst out of the ground and wrapped around his arms. As they retreated back into the ground, they pulled him on to my back.

“Thank you, thank you!” I pushed myself off the ground and started making for a cave nearby. Once inside, I quickly used the little healing power I had to stabilize the orc. Then I built a fire to eat.

“Thank you for the nourishment.” I thanked the plants I was about to eat and dug in. The food helped restore my energy enough to try healing some more. So, I took his hand in mine and started praying for the forest to help me.

I’m not sure when I feel asleep but I awoke the next morning to the feeling of being stared at. As I pried my eyes open I was greeted by a deep scowl and an ax. “Wah!” I leapt into the air only to come crashing back down with the creaking of limbs and thrashing of leaves.

“G… good… to see… you awake…” I finally opened my eyes to find the orc staring at me dumbfounded. “I’m not very good at this.”

“I see this…” He muttered slowly lowering his ax.

“Are you feeling okay?” I timidly asked, though he was clearly doing better physically.

“Why did you save me?”

“The… the forest told me it wasn’t your time to die.” He looked at me absolutely incredulously.

“The forest?” He said it as if it were the dumbest thing he’d ever heard.

“Yes. So I listened. I swore to protect the sacred places of Elune… and Elune is a goddess of life. So… life is sacred to her… So I should protect life too?” It made sense in my head, whether it made sense to him, I have no idea. He didn’t seem to be buying it.

“Whatever the case… I owe you my life.” Then he saluted me. At least, I think it was a salute? An Orcish one maybe? “My honor requires that I repay my debt. I will serve you until it is done.”

“Oh! No, no, no! I couldn’t possibly ask that of you!” My leaves ruffled as I walked over to him desperately. “I’m going on a druidic pilgrimage soon and I couldn’t ask you to accompany me! What about your family?!"

"But honor demands it!” He yelled back as he took a step back.

“Eep!” I shrank away as quickly as my stiff little tree legs would take me.

“Sorry.”

“No. It’s my fault.” I had heard that some orcs held their honor in high esteem. There was little I could do if he was one of them. “Help me get to my family’s grave site near Stonetalon Pass and I’ll consider it even.” He looked at me dubiously a moment. “I mean it. I really appreciate the sentiment, but I simply cannot ask anymore of you.” I pleaded with him and he finally relented with a heavy sigh.

“Lead the way…"

"Oh um… could we wait for this to go away?” I felt rather embarrassed and sheepish as I asked.

“Can’t you get rid of it?"

"No…” He sighed and rolled his eyes and stomped out of the cave muttering something in Orcish.

“You really are bad at this… Stay here.” Oh! Maybe if I hurry, I can get away and he won’t feel the need to follow me! With that thought in mind, I gathered up my things and rushed from the cave. Well… as rushed as a treant can go..

“Come on little legs! Waddle faster!” I cursed my stumpy legs as I made a beeline for some under growth. Suddenly, I heard a growl from behind me. “Oh no…”

“I thought I told you to stay.” I crumpled in defeat at being caught red handed. When I turned around I saw the orc with a towering dire wolf mount behind him. It was the first time I had ever seen one up close and I was utterly transfixed.

“You look just like Goldrinn, the ancient!” As excited as I was, I could only speak in an awestruck whisper.

“I know not of this Goldrinn.” This was very clearly not the orc talking.

“You! You spoke to me! And I heard you!"

"Yes.” I couldn’t contain my joy as I started to dance. “You are an odd druid.”

“You don’t understand! Up until last night, I could barely understand anything nature had to say to me!” I took his fluffy head in my hands and pet him. “Oh look! I’m not a tree any more!” During this whole exchange the poor orc just looked on in resigned silence.

“Yorulas would like to leave."

"Oh yes! Of course! I’m so sorry!” I turned to my orc companion and bowed apologetically. “My name is Tentori Moonfall of Astranaar. What’s your name?”

“Yorulas Darkaxe.” It was more of a grumble as he started to mount his wolf.

“And what’s your name you majestic beast?” Yorulas started to answer but the wolf beat him to it.

“Karaxus.”

“Karaxus. That is a very strong name. I like.” I said it a few more times before remembering Yorulas was still there. I outwardly cringed when I made eye contact with him again. To say he looked fed up would have been an understatement.

“Get on.”

“Get… get on?” I looked to the wolf hesitantly.

“You look light enough now.”

“I’ve never…” Yorulas groaned at my hesitation before reaching down and yanking me off the ground easily. “Ah… what do I do now?” I sat very awkwardly behind him in the saddle, hands fidgeting in the air.

“Hang on!"

"To what exactly?” He didn’t explain, just urged the wolf on at top speed leaving me scrambling to latch on to anything. In the end, I ended up wrapping my arms firmly around his midsection. Fear compelled me to bury my face in his back to keep from turning into a tree again. Fortunately, he had mail armor on under his stained and tattered tabard to keep me from squeezing him in half.

We rode for the better part of the day before he finally slowed to a stop. “Would you kindly remove yourself from my person?”

“Oh… sorry!” I quickly peeled myself off of him and scampered awkwardly off the wolf’s back. In my haste to dismount, I landed on my butt on the ground. “Owe…” I felt something warm at my back as the wolf gently picked me up by my cloak.

“Thank you, Karaxus. For bringing me here and for that.” I bowed to the wolf and he barked at me happily.

“We’re near the night elf village closest to Stonetalon. I presume your family graveyard is near here.” Yorulas motioned to Silverwind Refuge nearby.

“Yes. Thank you for bringing me here.” I bowed to him once more and he just let out a grunt. "You shouldn’t stay here though. There are Sentinels posted in the spire near the mountains.“ He glanced over my shoulder to the mountains beyond.

"This does not constitute repaying my debt…”

“Look out!” Yorulas was drowned out by a scream in my head and I yanked him to the ground. My instincts took over and I went on the defensive trying to figure out where the danger was coming from. I could feel myself changing form.

“Get out of here while you still can!” I yelled to Yorulas just in time to hear an arrow come whizzing towards Karaxus. I leapt into action and swat it from the air before it could meet its mark. Yorulas didn’t hesitate to mount and retreat.

“We do not take kindly to traitors… cat…” A venomous voice hissed as it melted out of the shadows.

“I know. But the forest told me to save him so I had to oblige.” I could feel my body changing again as I answered her.

“A convenient excuse."

"Aren’t they all?” The next thing I know there was a sharp pain at the back of my head and the world went black.

“Harpies… why did it have to be harpies…” A low, disgruntled complaint roused me from the darkness. “Always with the shrieking voices and feathers…”

“Mister Darkaxe?”

“Mister Darkaxe?! Mister Darkaxe?!” He sounded absolutely incredulous. “Do not ever call me Mister Darkaxe ever again.”

“Sorry…”

“It’s fine.” A warm tongue started licking my head as I continued to come to. I could feel my hair flopping around at odd angles with each pass.

“What happened?” I pried my eyes open fully and started to pet Karaxus idly.

“They strung you up and left you for the harpies in Stonetalon.” He helped me sit up and handed me a skin of water. “For the record, I hate harpies.” I couldn’t help the feeble laugh that escaped me.

“At least we’re even now…” I smiled happy at the thought he would go on about his business now.

“No, we aren’t.” My eyes snapped to his. They were deathly serious as he went on. “You saved me again.”

“You can’t be serious…” I groaned as I put my head in my hands. “I seriously doubt the forest had me save you just so you could owe me a life debt!”

“My honor demands I repay you.” He shoved a haunch of roasted meat at me.

“Thank you for the nourishment.” I nibbled on the haunch idly until the flavors really settled in my mouth. “This is really good!"

"I worked as a cook when I was a grunt at the Warsong Base.”

“It shows! But I think you must have a talent for it.”

“If I had the choice, I would have opened a restaurant in Orgrimmar.” He looked distant in the dark night as he spoke. “You cannot die gloriously in combat as a cook though.”

“You say that, but you could die gloriously hunting for a rare ingredient!” I swung what was left of the haunch around like a sword. “Here lies Yorulas the Brave. Died to spiders foraging for mushrooms in a cave!” For the first time since we met, Yorulas actually smiled. Seeing him happy made me happy. But I knew I still had to figure out how to get him to leave me alone.

“Yorulas… can I take an I owe you on that life debt thing?” I sincerely didn’t want to put him in any more danger. “I’m going to Winterspring and there are even more elves there. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you or Karaxus because of me.”

He let out a long breath through his nose. “That’s not how this works.” He inhaled deeply again. “But I swear on my ancestors, I will repay my debt to you one day.”

“I hope that day never comes.” It’s not that I didn’t want to see him again. I just didn’t want to burden him with someone like me. I smiled ruefully to myself as I finished eating the food he had made me.

“Where are you going?” I looked up at him confused a moment. “Your pilgrimage.”

“Oh, Winterspring.”

“Why Winterspring?”

“There are lots of owlkin there I can commune with. I want to learn to become one so I can protect Elune’s sacred places.” I was trying to hold on to my resolve, but my doubts were threatening to snatch it all away.

“I thought druids often choose to take on the forms of bears or cats if they were not healers.”

“That is true, but it isn’t impossible… My mentor said as much.” His realist analysis of the situation wasn’t really helping my confidence.

“Just because I’ve never seen it, doesn’t mean it can’t exist, I guess.” He shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating. “Maybe you aren’t good at being a druid because you haven’t been trying to be the right kind… if.. there is such a thing.” Was he trying to make me feel better? He did say he had wanted to open a restaurant in Origrimmar. Maybe… maybe he was trying to support me in becoming what I wanted to be…

“Thank you.”

“For what?” He snorted out in the face of a smile I couldn’t stop.

“Everything.” I knew I couldn’t convince of the truth in my heart, but he may have really saved my life that day in more ways than one.

Early the next day we prepared to part ways. Yorulas reached into one of the bags on Karaxus and handed me a fur cloak. It must have been from the hide of a bear to fit over his hulking frame. When I gave him a questioning look, he blushed and looked away. “Winterspring is cold.”

“You know I can turn into a big, fluffy bear.” I couldn’t help tease him a little. Orcs didn’t have an especially good reputation among Night Elves at large. I could see though there were some distinct qualities druids of the claw would appreciate.

“Reliably?” He deflated my moment immediately.

“No…” The cloak whooshed around my shoulders, the weight of it settling over me.

“I’m not going to need it here. Take it.” He acted as if it were nothing, but the gesture wasn’t lost on me. I never thought I’d ever meet an Orc, let alone become friends with one. Maybe this is why nature told me to save him? Or maybe he’s destined to go on to greater things?

“Then I want you to take this.” I reached into my robe and took a bear paw shaped necklace out. “It’s imbued with the strength of a great bear. I got it when I completed the trial to transform into one.” He tensed when I moved to place it around his neck. I stopped when I realized the string wasn’t long enough to fit. He held up his arm and took one of his bracers off.

“Put it here.”

I doubled the string up and placed the charm on his forearm. He then held it down with one of the straps for his bracers. “I feel stronger already.”

I was about to turn to leave when he grabbed my arm.

“If you go to the graveyard, you won’t like what you see there.” He sounded genuinely regretful as he said this. “The graveyard was destroyed but I did find this.” He held up a clearly ancient warglaive.

“My mother was a sentinel. Thank you…” My voice cracked under the weight of my emotions. The glaive was almost to heavy for me to hold in my current state.

“It’ll require a proper blacksmith.” A long silence fell between us as I tried not to let my emotions get the better of me. “You should go… put them to rest.”

“They already are. Thank you.” I strapped the glaive to my back and bowed to him.

“Oh… Well then… until we meet again.” We both saluted each other then went our separate ways. I sighed to myself through my conflicting emotions.

“I hope that day never comes. Good luck, Yorulas Darkaxe. I hope you get to open that restaurant one day.”


End file.
